A panel of three federal judges questioned Monday whether South Carolina should wait until 2014 to put its voter identification law into effect.

The judges pointed out that if they allow South Carolina to implement the law, voters would not have much time before the Nov. 6 elections to get required ID.

“Are you urging us to preclear for 2012?” asked John Bates, U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia.

Christopher Bartomolucci, the attorney for South Carolina, said the state wants approval for 2012 as well as future elections.

He said the law allows people to claim they were unable to get the required ID because of a “reasonable impediment.” People unable to do so because there is not enough time before Election Day would be able to make that claim, he said.

Lovell appeared in a hard hat and miner's garb in a TV ad earlier this month supporting Chandler's Republican challenger, Andy Barr.

Chandler subsequently ran a spot claiming Lovell is not a miner.

An attorney for Lovell sent a letter to Chandler Monday demanding that the ad be taken off the air. Attached to that letter were certificates showing Lovell is a certified miner for underground and surface coal operations in Kentucky.

Fla. wins case on early voting

Florida doesn't have to provide 96 hours of early voting in all counties for the Nov. 6 election, a federal judge ruled Monday in a lawsuit over claims that a 2011 law discriminates against blacks.

“Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that they are substantially likely to prove that the 2011 changes to the Early Voting Statute were made with the intent to discriminate against minority voters,” said U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan.

The 2011 law cut early voting to eight days from 14 and removed the final Sunday before Election Day. Opponents asked the court to force counties to offer 96 hours of early voting and make the final Sunday before the election a voting day.